영유아 교사 복지 실태와 개선 방안

Abstract

Influence from adulthood has greater impacts on children in early childhood period compared with ones on children old enough to attend school. Competency and emotionality of teachers working in ECEC services are, therefore, considered to have more crucial effects on child development than other teachers in charge of the periods after early childhood. Investigations have, however, reported a relatively low level of job sustainability and high rate of turnover with poor working conditions, long work hours, and heavy emotional workloads which inversely as the inverse relation of significant effects of ECEC teachers on child development. This research is to suggest improvement measures based on comprehensive analysis on current job status of teachers in ECEC services, which are kindergartens and childcare centers, and on welfare status classified as 5 domains of working hours and workloads, work vacation leave and temporary lay-off, training and promotion opportunities, working conditions and welfare systems, employment and retirement. For this; literature review, focus group interview, questionnaire survey, advisory meetings and workshops were conducted. 36 teachers of both kindergartens and childcare centers participated in focus group interview and 1,543 teachers, 771 from kindergartens and 772 from childcare centers, responded to questionnaire survey. Results show that although teachers both in kindergartens and childcare centers are under heavy workloads with long work hours, the level of welfare benefits hardly offset or balance such predicaments. Regardless of types of ECEC services they work in, teachers of both institutions have similar difficulties. Only are the degree and the perceived order of hardship varied; especially largest differences are displayed within physical environment. With those results taken, suggestions of 5 political directionalities are made that are including guaranteeing human basic right, supporting for them to focus on teaching, improving working conditions, securing job stability, and enlarging institution-level support for teacher welfare. Along with 5 directionalities, detailed policy suggestions of easing work hours and loads, guaranteed vacation leave and temporary lay-off, enhanced training and promotion opportunities, improved working conditions and welfare benefits, secured employment and retirement, and emotional supports are followed.